Niall Horan has found his sweet spot.
After One Direction disbanded in 2015, Horan aimed for solo stardom with his soft-rock 2017 debut, “Flicker,” on which he paid homage to two of his biggest influences: Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles. The album was a success by all accounts, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and scoring Horan his biggest post-boy band hit to date, “Slow Hands.”
Its 2020 follow-up, however, was weighed down by a hodgepodge of genres. “Heartbreak Weather” felt like Horan was chasing another radio smash, and yet not one of its four singles cracked the top 50. Then, COVID-19 put the world on pause, canceling the promotional tour he had mapped out and effectively ending the era before it ever had a chance to take off.
Niall Horan’s new album, “The Show,” is out June 9.Capitol RecordsBut the dreaded sophomore slump is behind Horan now. His third album, “The Show” (out Friday), combines the authenticity of “Flicker” with the full-bodied melodies of “Heartbreak Weather,” making it his strongest proclamation as an artist yet.
“The Show” opens with its lead single, “Heaven,” a festival-ready sing-along featuring Beach Boy-like harmonies and references (“God only knows,” Horan croons during the chorus, borrowing the title of the 1966 surf classic). It acknowledges that a relationship can either “go up in flames” or blossom into pure bliss, a theme that is carried throughout the 10-track project about love, anxiety and what happens when the two intertwine.
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At times, 29-year-old Horan is in over his head. He feels like he’s “sinking, overthinking” on the cathartic “Science,” while the top-down groove “If You Ever Leave Me” warns a lover with one foot already out the door, “Hope you know that you’re sentencing me to a life on my knees.”
The 10-track record includes the singles “Heaven” and “Meltdown.”Christian Tierney/Universal
This is the One Direction alum’s third solo album.Christian Tierney/UniversalThe meteoric pace of “Meltdown,” the record’s second single, is a sonic symbolization of the speed at which a fragile and trepid state of mind can spiral out of control. But even when “one broken glass turns to total collapse,” Horan assures himself that “this, too, shall pass.”
And it does. Bolstered by a piano and string section, the bewitchingly cinematic title track embraces unpredictability, with Horan learning to “hold tight, get ready for the ride” and trust the path he’s on.
Evidently, his girlfriend of three years, Amelia Woolley, has helped with his soul-searching. He sings about the ecstasy of love at first sight on the synthy, The 1975-esque “Save My Life” (“Ever since you walked in / I’m seein’ a new light”) and takes infatuation to another level as he promises to follow his partner “’til there’s no tomorrow” on the folky “You Could Start a Cult.”
Horan is taking “The Show” on tour in 2024.Getty Images for Boston Calling The tender standout “Never Grow Up,” meanwhile, finds Horan relishing the nirvana of romance, hoping that when he and Woolley are old, they “still drink” like they’re “back in the pub” and “fight over bands” they love.
But even when things seem to be going his way, Horan recognizes he’s his own “worst enemy” on the introspective closer, “Must Be Love.” He describes himself as a “specialist at overthinkin’ everything” in relationships and admittedly struggles to “keep it simple and follow [his] heart.” It’s perhaps the most candid confession on an album full of them.
Clearly, Horan is still figuring out “The Show” of life before curtain call.
